Pou Scooped, Ancic and Llodra to Final at ATP 's-HertogenboschPosted on June 19, 2005 Frenchman Michael Llodra kept his hopes of defending his ATP 's-Hertogenbosch title alive Saturday with a tense 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-3 win over wildcard Mark Philippoussis to advance to the final of the Dutch grasscourt event.
"You have to play very solid on grass to be strong mentally," said Llodra, perhaps referring to Philippoussis who double faulted twice in one game to give up the crucial break in the third set. "Since January I've been playing good but I didn't win so many matches. I lost my confidence during the claycourt season and after that it's tough to come back and be positive." In the final the Frenchman will be an underdog against No. 3 seed Mario Ancic, who dropped 24 aces on Czech Jan Hernych in a 6-4, 6-4 win. "I was close to reach(ing) the final here last year, losing in the semifinals in the third set to Guillermo Coria," Ancic said. "This year I've played pretty good tennis and I'm satisfied with the way I'm playing." For Ancic the final will be an opportunity to end his career title drought, losing his two previous final-round appearances at '05 Scottsdale and '04 Milan, while for Llodra a win would be his first since 's-Hertogenbosch a year ago. |
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